Why?

Why would I start a blog, a twitter account and put myself out there so publically to say I am an ex offender?

I was released from prison over four years ago and I have always been quiet about my past to new people I meet. Its never been a secret I just chose not to discuss it openly, now here I am, posting blogs and tweets on a daily basis with my real name and photo!

It would have been so easy for me to move away from my past as I have held down a job since the very day of my release, I have a nice home, a car and I am settled. Being easy for me to move away from past on a day to day basis however doesn’t mean it is right. I have never been one to take the easy way out.

Why should I settle in a job role that I am not satisfied in? Just because it was a great opportunity given to me when I needed it. It ensured I wasn’t released from prison unemployed so for that I am and will always be greatful but there is a big wide world out there and I have big dreams.

Starting my twitter account was for a sole reason of contacting a company who offered me a job then took that away from me with no explanation after my conviction was disclosed. Four weeks on, I have over 400 followers and a shed load of people rooting for me.

Then came my blog, this is to highlight and address huge issues that stop ex offenders living and working in the community after their release from prison, when their punishment should be over! Four years since my release and I don’t feel like my punishment is over. How can I believe in a justice system that is supposed to rehabilitate ex offenders when companies are allowed to offer jobs and then retract their offers based on irrelevant and years old convictions? Yes, we all know this is not right but the fact is, it is happening and only a minority are willing to challenge it and stand up for not only what is right but what is in essence greatly beneficially for society. I mean, who wouldn’t want to actively participate in reducing crime rates and men and women behind bars by helping them get a job?

Having been in prison and experiencing numerous problems within the system I obviously have a very strong view on the state of the prison system and the criminal justice system as a whole, I may address and share my stories on that at a later date, the main focus for me at present is to raise awareness on the importance of employing people with a conviction. Everyone already knows that the prison system is falling apart and failing people massively with detrimental lifetime effects, I don’t need to blog about it. Yet.

Who better to shout from the roof tops why employers should give ex offenders a chance and a job than someone who has witnessed her life fall apart, who lost everything and got it all back and more, through gritted teeth, sleepless nights, early starts and a clear, driven focus on building a life after living in a cell.

Unless you have been to prison or you know someone who has, you can never understand it. Why are employers so unwilling to offer jobs to ex cons? I have always been employed, even in prison I was still in full time paid work. There is a preconceived idea that criminals are not educated, that they lack ambition and can not be trusted. Do these people actually know any criminals like that, because I, for sure, do not. The majority of offenders and ex offenders I have known are fast paced, knowledgeable, self educated, polite, and very much driven to put an end to their criminal past. How can they do that in a community that wont employ them? In prison I made a handful of friends who now I would trust with my life, these 4 women are all employed, they are all ambitious, loyal and willing to learn. They are all ex offenders.

With over 80,000 people in prison it is very troubling for me to live the easy life and not address this. Infact, it is out of the question. I can not do it. 80,000 people who are at some point, going to be released from prison who need a job. It may be unlikely that all of these prisoners actually want to come out and work but for the ones who do, why are they not able to? I am a very thick skinned woman, nothing really gets to me and I try and find the best in every bad situation I have ever faced but even I feel like giving up sometimes, I wont, but I do feel like it. Its 10pm now, I have been awake since 5am, worked my full day and now I am typing this because I will work tirelessly in the hope that with my words, someone else’s journey from prison to public will be made a little less difficult.

Its scary to think, of all the attention my blogs have been getting from various charities and people within the criminal justice system not one local business or employer has said anything about it. They wont employ people with a conviction but they wont say why! If I wont do something and my reasons are strong, you would hear them.

Their ignorance and uniformed views of ex offenders needs to change. I received a tweet saying “#banthebox wont even work we need to #bantheattitude”. Lets ban the attitude. Why aren’t employers brave enough to speak up and highlight their concerns, I am here, blogging open and honestly about a matter that is so close to my heart and I really fail to see how an employer having a conversation with me in regards to employing people with conviction will leave, with the same view they had before.

There will always be crime committed for reasons of greed and status but what about the people who committed a crime to feed their kids, to put a roof over their head, to eat? Yes, it was wrong but if you, as an employer took away a job offer or didn’t even give them the time of day because they have previous convictions, what do you expect them to do? Sleep on the street, eat from bins and beg for money?

Employers should have a duty of care for their communities, this duty should include doing all they can to minimise crime and what better way to do that, than employ the criminal. Give them a reason and a purpose, listen to their life story and I bet when you finally do that, you will see the potential they have to be a great success.

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Published by michaelamovement

Michaelamovement.blog shares personal accounts of the criminal justice and UK prison systems.
Overcoming barriers to live and contribute in a meaningful way to help others in difficult and trying times.
All views and stories shared on this blog are only held by me.
View all posts by michaelamovement

PublishedMay 16, 2017

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4 thoughts on “Why?”

Your blog resonated within me, such a powerful description of how the TSP facilitators react- just the same for me. Think yourself fortunate they did not insist on you bieng placed on the PIPE course that was even more absurd. Thank you for highlighting the plight of ex-offenders

Thank you – an excellent post! I have personal experience myself and yes it was very hard getting my life back together; at 19yrs old refused job after job. So many refusals on top of my already low self esteem, lack of confidence and carrying a heavy burden of shame for being in prison even for a brief period. It was just 6 months-2yrs borstal, in a wing of a women’s prison -I was out in 6! Kept my nose clean to avoid any extended time spent behind bars at HMP – Her Majesty’s Pleasure. I tried everything to get work, I’m a worker not a shirker, but employers wouldn’t touch me with a barge pole, added to the fact that I was a black women and a single parent! Ticked all the boxes, I had no chance.

That very brief spell of six months in prison could have changed my life at that point, if only potential employers could have seen past my mistakes in life. Instead I was left feeling even more worthless than before I went to prison. I ended up back in my old way of life of drug use and all the wheeling and dealing, ducking and diving that goes with it. Got myself deep into a fifteen years of heavy drug addiction, coupled with petty crime to feed my growing habit. This was followed by five years on a methadone treatment programme. So for twenty years I had to live off the state and claim benefits as no one would employ me because I was an ex-prisoner. This included unemployment benefit, housing and health costs and much more. That’s a lot of tax payers money….and to add to that I was now a drug addict as well as an ex-con! So for me the stigma and discrimination I experienced just from that brief spell in prison had a huge impact on my life in two ways. It kept me in active addiction for far too long and dependent on benefits for even longer (huge drain on the economy). On the positive side I’m now fully recovered with a twenty-five year very successful career working in education and social care and also using my personal experience to support others.

So to all employers out there, I’m asking you personally to seriously consider offering work opportunities to ex-offenders. As one myself, albeit for a brief moment, you may be surprised at what we can contribute to your business if given the opportunity. All I ask is that you ditch the stigma and give it some serious thought.